Check out our free UNC Asheville vs USC Upstate pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Spartanburg. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.

UNC Asheville vs USC Upstate Pick & Preview: Saturday, February 4th Betting Odds

Bulldogs vs Spartans Matchup at a Glance

  • Sport: NCAAB
  • Teams: UNC Asheville Bulldogs at USC Upstate Spartans
  • Where: Spartanburg at Hodge Center
  • Date: Saturday, February 4th
  • Betting Odds: UNC Asheville -3.5, NCASHE -177 | SCUP +144 O/U 136.5

Bulldogs Preview:

UNC Asheville will take the floor against the Spartans with an overall record of 18-6. So far, the Bulldogs have played 12 games on the road, with a record of 7-5. This season, UNC Asheville has been favored to win in 13 games, sitting with a mark of 10-3. For today’s contest, UNC Asheville has a betting line set -3.5 points in their favor.

Drew Pember comes into today’s game as the Bulldogs’ leading scorer at 20.04 points per contest. Not only has Pember been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is UNC Asheville’s top rebounder at 9.62 boards per contest. Behind Pember, the team has benefited from the strong play of Tajion Jones, who is second on the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game. Overall, he has hit 51.6% of his shots and is adding 5.29 boards per game.

On offense, UNC Asheville comes into the game looking to control the pace of play, as they are just 484th in possessions per game. Even with their preference to slow the game down, the Bulldogs’ are scoring at a rate similar to the NCAA average at 74.9 points per game. So far, 40.33% of their shots have come from beyond the arc, where they have connected at a rate of 35.8%.

Spartans Preview:

Heading into today’s matchup vs UNC Asheville, the USC Upstate Spartans will be taking the floor for the 23rd time this season and have an overall record of 9-13. Currently, the Spartans have been the home team 9 times, sitting with a record of 7-2. So far, the Spartans have been the underdog 17 times, going 5-12 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +3.5 underdogs on the spread.

USC Upstate will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer Jordan Gainey who is averaging 15.14 points per game for the Spartans. Gainey is also important to the team’s ability to score on the perimeter. So far, he leads the team in 3-point shots made. Also key to the Spartans’ offensive game plan is the play of Trae Broadnax who has hit 48.5% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 10.41 points per game.

Coming into today’s game, USC Upstate will be looking from some improved play from their offense. Currently, the Spartans are ranked 208th at 70.9 points per game. A major reason for their low scoring mumbers is the fact that they tend to work the clock on offense. This year, they are the 425th ranked team in terms of pace. When looking at their 3-point shooting numbers, USC Upstate is close to the NCAA average at 36.1%.

Free Spread Prediction: UNC Asheville Bulldogs -3.5

Heading into this matchup, with the UNC Asheville Bulldogs sitting as -3.5 point favorites, we like them to pick up the win and cover the spread. Both team’s will be coming into the game looking to get up shots from outside, as UNC Asheville and USC Upstate are averaging 8.13 and 7.93 made 3’s per game, respectively. One trend that we feel strongly about is the fact that UNC Asheville has historically performed well against the spread on the road, going 6-4 ATS (last 10). Before tonight’s matchup, we recommend getting a wager down on the Bulldogs to cover at -3.5.